For the third straight Group H game, O'Neill's injury-plagued team was defeated 1-0 due to poor play in the final third.
After receiving a "sucker-punch" from substitute Abat Aimbetov in the 88th minute of Monday's Euro 2024 qualifier against Kazakhstan at home, Michael O'Neill claimed that Northern Ireland did not deserve to lose.
In spite of having more possession of the ball and more opportunities, O'Neill's injury-plagued team lost 1-0 for the third time in a row in Group H due to poor play in the final third.
When Aimbetov got free from his own half late in the game, riding challenges from Craig Cathcart and Paddy McNair before slotting past Bailey Peacock-Farrell, they had been searching fruitlessly for a winner.
With only three points from their first four games, all of which came against San Marino, Northern Ireland's chances of qualifying for next summer's championships suddenly appear remote. However, O'Neill's larger concern this week has been developing a young team with 10 senior players absent.
At the conclusion of a game at Windsor Park that was met with booing, O'Neill commented, "I don't think it was merited." We found it pretty tough to play through a side that was positioned to defend deep with 10 players behind the ball, despite the fact that we were very dominant in the first half.
"We produced one or two chances, and we lost one due to sloppy defending on our part. The game seemed to be lurching a little in the second half, but I believe the changes provided us a boost.
We had to adjust the formation at that time because Jonny Evans suffered a shoulder injury, and the back four was somewhat patched up. Then, we concede a goal just before the buzzer, which was a tremendous sucker-punch.
"I believe Kazakhstan was more than content to take a point, and they left with all three, which is a really disappointing outcome.
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